


A Different Kind of Family Bonding

by WaterMellon_SweetTea



Category: Danny Phantom, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A little darker cuz they're superheroes and that's what happens, Adrien's not oblivious in this one, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Family Bonding, Identity Reveal, It's just to be safe, Lila Rossi is a horrible person, So is Luka in this, Tags may change idk yet, Yes I know the summary sucks, just by a little tho, not really much violence, rated for language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23381974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaterMellon_SweetTea/pseuds/WaterMellon_SweetTea
Summary: Danny and Jazz fly out to France to visit their cousin Marinette for her birthday. Hawkmoth, however, has other plans. Hopefully, Ladybug and Chat Noir can beat this akuma on their own, or else something drastic might happen.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Danny Fenton/Sam Manson, Kinda - Relationship, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Danny Fenton, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Jazz Fenton
Comments: 24
Kudos: 185





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! So this is my first fic pls go easy on me. I haven't written in a very long time but my quarantine just got extended so I figured why not. Enjoy!  
> In this work, Marinette is 16, Danny is 17, and Jazz is 19.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette gets a big surprise for her birthday!

Marinette waited at the dining table, rather impatiently, for her father to complete the finishing touches on her fifteenth birthday cake. The redolence of vanilla and buttercream wafted through the room, slightly marred by the scent of melting candle wax. Upbeat music played softly in the background, drowned out by her parent’s laughter, and confetti was sprinkled across the dining table. It was a sort of tradition, Marinette supposed. The family always enjoyed a quiet party together before her real birthday, when a roomful of her friends and family all gathered around a single table. 

Finally, Marinette’s dad brought the cake over and set it down in front of her. “Here you go, Marinette!” He exclaimed, “Ready, Sabine?”  
Her mom nodded and the two started singing.

“Joyeux anniversaire,  
Joyeux anniversaire,  
Joyeux anniversaire, Marinette!  
Joyeux anniversaire!”

“Make a wish, sweetheart,” Sabine grinned. 

As soon as Marinette had finished blowing out her candles, her parents wrapped her in a big hug, as they do every year, all smiling faces and laughter. 

“Oh, I can’t believe you’re already fifteen!” Sabine says as Tom set to cutting the cake, “You know, I was your age when I met your father.” 

“Really?” Marinette asked. She had heard the story a couple of times, but she had never known much of the details. 

“Yep! He and his family were on a trip here from America. Actually, I first ran into him not too far from our bakery. Literally!” Sabine laughed and shook her head, “I wasn’t paying much attention and knocked him flat on the pavement!”  


“Smacked her forehead against my nose, too,” Tom joked, “That’s why it’s a bit crooked.”  


Marinette couldn’t stop herself from laughing as her mom gasped. “Stop it! You know it wasn’t that bad, Tom.”  


“Sometimes if I think about it, it still hurts!”  


Sabine grinned widely as she smacked her husband’s arm, taking the piece of cake he held and handing it to Marinette. She could remember the rest of the story now. Her parents had become quick friends but hadn’t fallen in love until her dad returned to France to attend culinary school. After that, her dad decided to stay. They got married, opened up the best bakery in Paris and the rest was pretty much history.  


Her parents each got a piece of cake for themselves and settled down at the table. They were just talking about their plans for the next day when a knock came from the door.  


Having been Paris’ savior for just over a year, she had trained herself to become very observant. Ladybug may have given her enhanced strength and stamina, but it was Marinette who had learned to see and hear beyond what most normal people could. This was one of the moments where her skills had come in handy. Marinette noticed the giddy glance her parents had shared with one another upon hearing the knock at the door. They definitely had something up their sleeves.  


“That must be your birthday present,” Sabine gushed as she got up to answer the door, Tom trailing behind her. Marinette’s mom opened the door but as her dad’s large frame was blocking her view, she had no idea who it was. Sabine greeted them warmly and hugs were exchanged between her parents and the two guests. Finally, Tom moved.  


“Happy birthday, Mari!” Her cousins exclaimed in unison.  


Danny! Jazz!” Marinette ran to meet them and the three embraced for the first time in three years, when they had last seen each other. Although the siblings had lived on a separate continent than Marinette, they had always managed to stay very close. As kids, they spent long nights video chatting. Their parents would often find them the next morning asleep in front of their computers. These days, they kept to texting whenever they could; during school, late at night, early in the morning. About two years ago, however, Danny wasn’t around to talk as much. Even Jazz seemed to have gotten so much busier with her school work. It must have been a blessing in disguise, Marinette supposed. She had much less free time to talk now, thanks to her gig as Paris’ favorite superhero.  


“I missed you guys so much! I didn’t know you were coming,” Marinette beamed with excitement.  


“We missed you too, Mari,” Jazz said. “Uncle Tom and Aunt Sabine thought it’d be a good idea to surprise you this year.”  


“We’re sorry Mom and Dad couldn’t make it, though,” Danny sighed. “You know how much they love to work.”  


“Yeah, I know. But that’s ok! I finally get to see you guys again! It feels like it’s been forever.”  


The family continued to talk over cake and ice cream well into the night. A couple of hours after Marinette’s parents went to bed, the three of them decided they better get to sleep as well.  


“I’ll help move your stuff up to my room, Jazz. Are you ok sleeping on the couch, Danny? You could stay upstairs with us if you want.”  


“No, it’s all good. I’ll leave you two alone to talk about...whatever girls talk about,” Danny had a disgusted look on his face but laughed anyways.  


Marinette handed him some blankets before grabbing one of Jazz’s bags and lugging it up the stairs. They made a bed on the couch in her room for Jazz. She had absolutely refused to sleep in Marinette’s bed.  


“There is no way I’ll fit up there! I’m way too tall.”  


Being about a head taller than her younger cousin, it was true. Marinette, however, found the confined space of the loft to be perfect. It amazed her how different her and her cousins managed to be sometimes. While they were both very tall, Danny being nearly six feet now, Marinette was built more like her mother. Sabine may have been short but she was still very strong. That wasn’t to say her cousins weren’t built, however. Danny seemed to have grown a lot more since the last time Marinette had seen him. There was absolutely no way she’d be able to beat him in an arm wrestling match now, like she used to when they were kids.  


Marinette was pulled from her own head when Jazz picked up a picture from the desk beside her. “Oh, who is this, Mari,” She laughed. “He’s very handsome.”  


The picture she was holding up happened to be the one taken of Marinette and Adrien when they were slow dancing at Chloé’s party the year before.  


“Oh, that’s just my friend, Adrien. I used to have the biggest crush on him last year!” Marinette giggled, “Can you do me a favor, though? If you find anymore of his pictures just laying around, forgotten, can you hand them to me so I can throw them away?”  


Jazz gasped. “Oh, no. You weren’t one of those girls, were you?”  


“You mean the ones who are so obsessed with their crush that they basically turn into stalkers? Because if so, then yeah, I was definitely one of those girls.”  


Jazz laughed at the cringe on Marinette’s face. “At least you’ve gotten over it, right?”  


“Yeah. I guess I still have a bit of a crush on him, but it’s not as strong as it used to be after Luka.”  


“Who’s that?”  


Luka has been Marinette’s first real boyfriend. He had also been her first real heartbreak.  


“Just a guy I used to go out with.” She sighed, “I thought he was really sweet until I found out he was saying all those nice things to other girls, too. I guess that’s just what sixteen year old boys are like.”  


Jazz knew the look on her younger cousin's face. She had even worn the same look a time or two. It was a look of regret and anger, stitched together by dejection.  


“No, Mari, that’s not what boys are like. That’s what assholes are like; People who don’t deserve your attention. Guys like Luka are made for teaching girls lessons about love and themselves before being kicked to the curb.”  


“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Mainette agreed. “I mean, I don’t know what I expected anyways. He has blue hair. And paints his nails black. And he’s in a band. It’s a band made up of our friends, but still.”  


“Well, whatever he looks like or does, he clearly doesn’t deserve you.”  


“Thanks, Jazz,” Marinette smiled sheepishly. “Well, we better get to bed. It’s gotten pretty late.”  


“Yeah, you’re right.” Jazz turned out the lights and curled up on the couch. “Night, Mari.”  


“Goodnight.”  


Miles away, in a dark room, a skylight opens, letting the rays of the moon illuminate a single figure.  


“I sense a great power has entered our city, Nooroo,” the figure grumbles. “I may be able to use this to my advantage. Ladybug and Chat Noir’s powers may be growing quickly, but as of yet, they stand no chance against this entity.”  


“Are you going to akumatise them, Master?” questions the figure’s kwami tentatively.  


“No, not so soon. I need to see what he’s made of first. I need to draw him out, get him to fight. Someone with a power of this magnitude won’t be able to resist coming to the aid of civilians.”  


“But, Master, how will we know if this person has good intentions or bad?”  


The figure in the dark chuckled. “We’ll just have to figure that out, won’t we, Nooroo? Dark wings, rise!”  


Magic swept through the room and over the figure, transforming him into Paris’ notorious supervillain, Hawkmoth. He scanned the city, trying to find any sort of negative emotion to manipulate.  


“I sense a feeling of great sorrow. A young boy has lost such an important figure in his life,” Hawkmoth chuckled cruelly. “Yes, this will work just fine.”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBH I don't really have much of this fic planned out yet I was just so excited about it that I went ahead and posted the first chapter.  
> Please give me some feedback and tell me what you think. I could really use some tips so tell me what you think I did right and wrong. I'm really trying to get better.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette has to slip away to fight an akuma. How will she keep this a secret from her cousins?

Marinette waited until she could hear Jazz quietly snoring before she slipped out of her skylight onto her balcony. While she loved having her cousins around, it did complicate things. Specifically her patrols. She wouldn’t be able to sneak out every night with Jazz sleeping eight feet below her. Tikki would have to stay hidden as well. There’d be no excuses if she were to be seen. How could Marinette explain a talking, floating mystical creature buzzing around her bedroom?

Marinette let her head fall into her hands. “How am I going to keep this a secret, Tikki? Danny and Jazz are staying here for a week! They’re going to notice something’s up eventually,”

“Have confidence, Marinette. I’m sure you’ll find a way to make this work. And remember, I’m always here to help when you need me.”

Tikki’s reassurance helped ease some of Marinette’s stress, but doubt lingered in the back of her mind. She decided she’d focus on that when she had the time. For now, Ladybug was late for her meeting with Chat Noir.

When she finally made it to the rendezvous point at the top of the Eiffel Tower, Chat was waiting patiently with his feet dangling off the edge of the platform. He turned his gaze to his partner when she dropped beside him. A wide grin broke across his face. “What took you so long, M’lady? I was beginning to think you bailed on me.”

Ladybug heaved a sigh and rolled back her shoulders to try and loosen them. “Sorry, Chaton. It’s just that I have some family staying with me for the next week. It kind of messes with our schedule, I know, but I don’t think I’ll be able to make all of our patrols while they’re here. I hope that’s alright.”

“Bug, I have lived my entire life based off a schedule. I can handle a couple days without one.”

“Thank you for understanding, Kitty. So, how’d the city look on your way over?”

“Pretty calm, actually. I don’t think we’ll have to deal with too much tonight.”

Hawkmoth, however, seemed to have different plans. About a mile from where they stood, a thunderous explosion shook the earth. Ladybug could see the orange glow of flames in the distance, and a thick pillar of smoke billowed into the clouds above it. She and Chat raced towards the fire. As they got closer, they began to hear the panicked screams of civilians as they rushed desperately towards safety. The air around them became hot and dry as the fire burned away any moisture in the air. Soon, the heroes stood on a rooftop overlooking what they could now see was a burning hotel, which thankfully stood alone on a small plot of land. Had it been connected in a chain of buildings, the fire would have spread much quicker.

Ladybug spotted a single figure perched on a balcony of the flaming hotel. A wicked grin marred the akuma’s young face as he gazed towards the chaos he had caused. His hands glowed orange with heat. Cruel eyes held nothing but flames. Ladybug had learned, however, that no matter how monsterous an akuma may look, hints of humanity always break through. She looked closer. Tear tracks could be seen streaking through the ask on the young boy’s face.

Chat had to shout to be heard over the crackling of the flames. “I’ll see if there’s anyone left in the building. You stop the akuma from starting any more fires.”

“What? No! Chat, you can’t go in there, it’s too dangerous!”

Her protests fell on deaf ears. Chat was already using his baton to vault himself over to the roof of the hotel. He soon disappeared through a door on the roof and rushed into the burning building.

“Goddammit, Chat. You fucking dumbass.” 

Finally tired of watching the fleeing civilians, the akuma lept from the balcony and landed on the pavement in front of the building. Ladybug followed, landing in his line of vision but stood far enough away that he couldn’t reach her. The way his skin glowed and sparked told her to keep as much distance between them as possible.

“Nice to finally meet you, Ladybug.” The akuma smirked cruelly, which looked odd on such a young face. If she had to guess, she would say this boy was no older than thirteen. “The name’s Inferno. Now, I’ll just say this once. Give me your miraculous before I have to burn you to the ground and take it from you.”

“I’ll give you my miraculous when Hell freezes over.”

“Alright, then. Have it your way.”

Inferno raised his hands and shot out two pillars of flames from them, aimed straight at Ladybug. She tried to leap out of the way, but unfortunately, fire travels much quicker than expected. The flames licked at Ladybug’s side, burning through her suit and blistering the skin underneath. She crashed to the ground, a strangled grunt tearing through the air. Her vision blurred dangerously. Biting back the pain and bile rising in her throat, Ladybug leapt to her feet. She threw her yoyo behind the akuma, wrapping it around a stone pillar holding up a balcony and pulling. It teetered on the edge before plummeting to the ground, the akuma right in its path. The pillar crashed on top of Inferno. He was pinned to the ground, but Ladybug knew it wouldn’t be for long. He was too strong for that.

As Inferno struggled to lift the pillar, Ladybug took the chance to call upon her lucky charm. A cloud of magic burst through the air. From it fell a black and red polka-dotted hydrant wrench. However, Ladybug didn’t get the chance to figure out how to use it, for at that moment two columns of fire burst from Inferno’s hands, sending the stone pillar flying through the air. He stood, anger burning so hot that his hair started to singe. He took no notice of this, and instead focused his rage on Ladybug.

“You bitch,” Inferno panted, “I guess I’ll just have to take your miraculous the hard way.”

He raised his hands towards Ladybug, but he was too slow. Chat had already rushed from the building behind him and tackled him before he could fire a shot. Suddenly, Chat leapt away from the akuma. He grunted in pain and cradled his hands to his chest. Inferno jumped to his feet and shot his flames towards Chat, who managed to dodge just in time. He sprinted towards Ladybug.

“So, what’s our plan?”

“Lead him towards the fire hydrant across the courtyard. Make sure he’s right in front of it.”

“Got it.”

Both heroes ran in separate directions; Ladybug towards the end of the hotel square, and Chat towards the akuma. She could hear her partner behind her, mocking Inferno, trying to agitate him. Good strategy, she thought. The angrier Inferno becomes, the more impulsive he gets. Ladybug reached the end of the courtyard and spotted the fire hydrant setting in the back of the square. She put the wrench in its place and got into position, waiting for her partner and the akuma to arrive.

Columns of fire rose above the trees, often catching the leaves on fire. It had been the middle of the night, but the glow of the flames illuminated the entire courtyard and the buildings surrounding it. Ash and soot floated through the air, making it difficult to breath. A fit of coughs tried to tear themselves through Ladybug’s throat, but she held them back as best she could. She had to stay alert to see when Chat and the akuma would show up, but the smoke filling the air made it difficult to see. It stung her eyes and filled her lungs. 

The shouts of Chat and Inferno could be heard bouncing through the courtyard, slowly getting closer and closer. Suddenly, Chat tore through two trees right in front of Ladybug.

“Now!”

Ladybug had to use all of her strength to turn the valve on the hydrant. Just as Inferno was in sight, hundreds of gallons of water blasted towards him. He was knocked off his feet and sent tumbling backwards, rolling across the ground until his back crashed against a tree.

“The akumatised object has to be in his left pocket,” Chat panted as he and Ladybug raced towards Inferno. “He’s been protecting that side the entire time.”

When they reached him, Inferno was groggily trying to stand. The water sizzled against his burning skin and smoke rose from his body. The flames in his eyes had dimmed considerably. Chat put a hand to his shoulder and shoved him back to the ground. In Inferno’s pocket, Ladybug found a soaking photograph, the corners singed and curling inward. It showed two boys, their arms wrapped around each other. They both had the same wild black hair. Their faces held wide grins that shone through their warm brown eyes. The younger of the two boys, who looked much like the akuma, was looking up at the older one. Ladybug felt a pain in her heart when she had to rip the picture in half.

A blackened butterfly appeared. Ladybug caught it up in her yoyo and let her magic do its work. The butterfly was purified and released, now sparkling white. 

“Bye bye, little butterfly,” She muttered. She then went to the hydrant wrench and tossed it in the air. “Miraculous ladybug!”

Pink rays of magic exploded outwards. The flames that had charred the hotel were put out, leaving not a hint of soot in its place. Inferno returned to a normal boy, tears streaking down his face.

“What happened? I feel like my head is on fire.”

Ladybug handed the picture back to him. “What’s your name?” She asked.

“Quentin.”

“Well, Quentin,” Chat muttered, “you were akumatized. But it’s over now.”

The boy nodded but didn’t look surprised. He clutched the picture to his chest and rested his head on his knees.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ladybug sat down beside him and motioned for Chat to do the same.

“My older brother, Leo. His funeral was today. He died last week after his house caught on fire. The fucking electrical wiring was bad.” Quentin lifted his head and peered up at the heroes. “Where were you? Why didn’t you do something? You could have saved him!”

Ladybug’s heart broke for the boy, and guilt tore through her chest. She knew deep down that she couldn’t save everyone. That didn’t make this any easier. And how was she supposed to tell a young boy that? She opted instead to wrap Quentin in her arms. He sobbed and fell against her, which shot a searing pain through her side. Ladybug groaned and her body tensed, causing Quentin to push her away and give her a worried look.

“Bug, you’re hurt,” Chat reached towards her side. Part of her suit had been burned away, revealing blistered skin and an open wound. Ladybug scooted away before Chat could touch her.

“I’m fine, really,” Suddenly, her earrings beeped, alerting her that she was going to transform soon. “I have to go.”

She grabbed Quentin by the shoulders. “Take care of yourself, ok? I know it hurts right now, but it will get better. I promise.”

Ladybug leapt away and raced for her balcony. The pain in her side worsened as the air rushed past it. She ignored it, though. She had to make it home before she transformed. Jumping from building to building, the trip home seemed to take much longer than normal. When she finally reached her house, she threw open her trapdoor and fell into her room. A groan escaped her as she bounced against her bed. Suddenly, the lights flipped on. Footsteps climbed the ladder leading to her bed.

“Marinette? Are you ok?” Jazz peeked her head above the landing and saw, not her cousin, but Ladybug. “Oh, my God. Are you fucking serious?”

“My plan didn’t work,” Hawkmoth rumbled. “I was sure whoever holds this power wouldn’t be able to resist stopping the akuma.”

Metal plating spiraled above him, covering the window set in the ceiling.

“I’ll just have to try again. Create an akuma even more powerful than Inferno. One way or another, I am going to expose this power, whatever it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey again! So I've decided I'll try to update this fic every Sunday. I'll try to stick to that but I get side tracked a lot so it might not happen that way XD. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took me so long to post this! I just could not figure out how I wanted to write this chapter for the longest time

Marinette couldn’t bring herself to care as her earrings let off a final warning, causing her to transform right in front of Jazz’s eyes. The burn throbbing at her side had disoriented her. It had taken much of her strength and energy just to get home. Instinctually, Marinette reached to hold her side, but even the most gentle touch sent sharp stabs of pain through her entire body. A loud groan escaped her as she buried her face deep into her pillow. 

“You’re hurt!” Jazz scrambled the rest of the way up the ladder. She knelt beside Marinette’s bed, concern pooling in her eyes. “How’d this happen?”

“It’s nothing, really. I’m fine. Go back to bed.” Marinette said through gritted teeth. Jazz chose to ignore her, having heard the same excuse a hundred times before.

“We need to get this taken care of. Stay right here, I’ll get the first aid kit. We might need Danny’s help, too, if that’s ok.”

Had Marinette been in her right mind, she would have continued to insist that she could deal with the injury by herself. She also would have asked what the hell Jazz thought she could do about such a serious burn anyways. However, the pain had discombobulated her. Marinette found herself nodding her head in agreement, then watched as Jazz raced down the stairs. When she came back, she had a small duffel bag slung over her shoulder and Danny trailing behind her. Both of them settled beside Marinette and quickly pulled on a pair of latex gloves. Jazz had pulled a pair of scissors out of the first aid kit and was cutting away at the bottom of Marinette’s shirt. 

“I’m sorry, Mari. I know this might make you a little uncomfortable but it’ll help us get to the wound better.” Jazz’s soothing voice helped Marinette relax, if only a little. The pain still made her dizzy, but she could tell Jazz knew what she was doing. Her demeanor was calm and collected, and her hands were steady as she examined Marinette’s injury. “We’ll need to use the gel dressing on this one, Danny.”

Danny reached into the bag and pulled out a large white package, setting it beside the rest of the supplies he had ready. He then grabbed a small medicine bottle. After shaking two of the small white tablets into his hand, he handed them to Marinette along with a bottle of water. “It’s for the pain,” he murmured, “It’s not very strong, but it’ll help.”

Once Marinette had swallowed the pills, Jazz reached around her and pulled out a rag soaking in a bowl of clean water. “We’re gonna use this to wash your skin before we bandage it, ok? This might hurt a bit.”

Danny took Marinette’s hand between his own when she gasped in pain. The rag was rough and pulled at her tender skin. Concern and remorse was written all over her cousins’ faces, but each knew that cleaning the wound was a necessary precaution. After Jazz was done washing the burn and had patted it dry with a patch of gauze, she opened the white package that Danny had gotten out earlier and laid the dressing over Marinette's burn. It was a large spongy sheet coated in a thick layer of gel that immediately cooled her skin. Danny handed Jazz two of Marinette’s thick pillows, which were then set beneath her heels in order to elevate her feet.

When they were done, Jazz sat back on her hand, eyes boring harshly into Marinette’s, and cleared her throat. “We’re going to have to leave that dressing on for about an hour before we switch it out for a bandage. In the meantime, is there anything you want to talk to us about? How you got that burn in the first place, maybe?”

Thankfully, due to the medication and the cooling gel, the pain in Marinett’s side had died down to a dull throb. Her head had cleared just enough to register the dread settled in the bottom of her stomach. There was no way she’d be able to lie her way through this one. Jazz had already seen her transform.

“I was fighting an akuma,” Marinette said bluntly, gazing at the ceiling to avoid Jazz’s glare, “One who could manipulate fire. He shot at me and I tried to dodge, but I guess I wasn't fast enough.”

“Yeah, we could tell,” Danny muttered sympathetically, “He got you pretty good.”

“So how long has it been?”

“Since I became Ladybug? A little over a year now. I’ve never really gotten hurt this bad, though,” Marinette finally turned her gaze over to her cousins, “Thank you for helping me, by the way. I would’ve had no idea what to do.”

“Don’t worry about it. Jazz has gotten plenty of practice after patching me up the last three years.”

Danny’s comment didn’t surprise Marinette as much as it should have. The last fifteen minutes has exposed a lot she didn’t know about her cousins. What she still didn’t know was why Danny needed so much medical attention in the first place. She cursed herself for how slow and muddled her brain was as she tried to piece together all the clues she had picked up through the years.

You see, Amity Park was a very strange town. Most of its citizens didn’t like to talk about what went on there. Because of this, much of the world remained blissfully ignorant of the fact that there was a whole other dimension habited solely by the undead. Many outsiders still refused to believe that ghosts even existed. For the people of Amity Park, however, seeing a ghost was almost an everyday occurance. Whether it was one of the vengeful spirits the town’s hero, Danny Phantom, regularly fought off or one of the harmless blob ghosts that were purely a manifestation of sentient ectoplasm. Nothing really surprised Amity’s citizens anymore. 

It was because of the town’s secrecy that Marinette hadn’t heard much about Danny Phantom. Her cousin’s had mentioned him fleetingly during some of their conversations and she had seen him on the news the last time she had visited Amity, but that was almost three years ago. She had nearly forgotten about the ghostly hero by now. However, she did remember thinking Phantom looked suspiciously like her cousins back then. They had the same hairstyle, the same cocky grin, and even the same freckles, which stood out against Fenton’s pale skin and glowed like stars on Phantom’s. Marinette felt as though she could beat herself up for not noticing it sooner.

Danny saw the realization light up her face and chuckled. “Finally figured it out, huh?”

“I feel like an idiot.”

“Yeah, most people do when that happens.”

The three of them laughed for a moment before falling silent as Marinette tried to process everything that had just happened. It was still hard to believe someone had finally found out she was Ladybug. She’d have to visit with Master Fu, eventually, and explain to him everything that had happened. She just hoped she’d be able to keep her miraculous when it was all over.

Marinette shook her head and pushed the thought out of her mind, figuring she’d cross that bridge when she came to it. Instead, she turned her gaze to her cousin. “So what happened? How’d you become Danny Phantom?”

Danny’s eyes darkened for a moment before he spoke. “You remember that portal in the basement that my parents built, right?”

Marinette nodded. When her aunt and uncle had taken her downstairs to give her a demonstration of how it worked, Danny had absolutely refused to go with them. I’ve seen it before, he said, I already know how it works. Thankfully, his parents had taken no notice to the apprehension in his eyes back then.

“Well, I was showing it off to a couple of my friends, Sam and Tucker, ‘cuz they thought it was pretty cool. It hadn’t worked when my parents first turned it on, so Sam convinced me to go inside and get my picture taken in it. My dad, though, he put the ‘on’ switch on the inside of the portal and forgot about it. So, when I tripped and fell, my hand landed right on the power button.” Danny paused and took a deep breath. “It turned on while I was still inside. And now, I can do this.” He held out his hand as it glowed bright green with ectoplasmic energy. Danny stared at his own hand for a moment before glancing back at his cousin. “What about you? How’d you become Ladybug?”

Marinette told Danny and Jazz the story of how she met Master Fu and how she had earned the Ladybug miraculous. She even introduced them to Tikki, who was very uncomfortable with the recent revelations. Marinette could understand, though. She didn’t exactly like the idea of anyone knowing she was Ladybug. The rest of the hour was filled with an explanation of who Hawkmoth was, as well as a lot of bitching about him.

Marinette smiled sheepishly as Jazz pulled on another pair of gloves, removed the gel pad, and threw it into a small red bag she had pulled from the duffel. “Sorry for complaining so much. You guys probably go through the same thing too, don’t you?”

Danny shook his head and chuckled. “Yeah, no, you’re good. It feels good to get it off your chest, doesn’t it?”

“It does.”

Jazz gently pressed a large square bandage over Marinette’s side while Danny taped it down. Then, they packed up the duffel bag and Jazz pulled Marinette’s quilt up to her chin. “You’re gonna have to keep your feet elevated all night and finish that bottle of water before you fall asleep. And remember, burn pain can be pretty difficult to manage, so you’re going to have to stay in bed as much as you can for the next couple of days.”

Marinette nodded seriously. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m not kidding. I already have one idiot hero who doesn’t listen to my advice. I don’t need another one.” Jazz’s tone was strict as she glared at Marinette, but she couldn’t hide the sparkle in her eyes or the upwards tug of her lips. “Goodnight. I’ll check on you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Jazz. Night, Danny.”  
“Goodnight. Well, I guess technically it’d be ‘good morning’, wouldn’t it? It is, like, four o’clock by now.” 

“Goodnight, Danny,” Jazz said as she watched him climb down the ladder.

“Ok, ok. See you guys in a couple hours.”

Jazz turned to Marinette and rolled her eyes after Danny had disappeared through the trapdoor. “He is so exhausting sometimes.”

“Just sometimes?”

Jazz giggled as she stepped down onto the ladder. “You’re right. I meant to say ‘all the time’.” She took one more glance at her cousins before climbing down and settling onto the couch. “Sleep well, Mari.”

Marinette hummed and closed her eyes. They had begun to feel quite heavy after her cousins had finished bandaging her up. Sleep came quickly and mercifully, pushing any thoughts of a painful burn or aching muscles out of Marinette’s head. She wasn’t able to escape her dreams, however. That night she dreamt of a lovely Paresian bakery going up in smoke.

**Author's Note:**

> TBH I don't really have much of this fic planned out yet I was just so excited about it that I went ahead and posted the first chapter.  
> Please give me some feedback and tell me what you think. I could really use some tips so tell me what you think I did right and wrong. I'm really trying to get better.


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